Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel increased its stake in Amazon by 11.8% to 23,466 shares worth $5.417 million, as part of institutional ownership totaling 72.20% of the company.
• Amazon delivered a Q1 beat (EPS $2.78 vs. $1.63; revenue $181.5B) with AWS growing roughly 28% and management citing AI-driven demand, prompting broad analyst price‑target lifts and a consensus target near $308.55.
• Meanwhile insiders have been net sellers — including a director sale of ~$1.0M and the CEO selling ~$3.64M — with insiders disposing of 128,035 shares (~$28.8M) in the last quarter, a potential near‑term caution for some investors.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,466 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,476 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $5,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMZN. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Amazon.com by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,740 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Amazon.com by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 886 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in Amazon.com by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 3,076 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank raised its stake in Amazon.com by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 10,723 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amazon.com Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $265.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $223.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.05. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $183.85 and a 1 year high of $273.88.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $1.15. The business had revenue of $181.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.28 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 20.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMZN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $260.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.55.

Amazon.com News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven AWS acceleration — Amazon reported stronger‑than‑expected Q1 results (EPS $2.78; revenue $181.5B) with AWS growing ~28% and management pointing to large AI/backlog commitments, underpinning revenue and margin upside for investors. Amazon beats quarterly cloud growth estimates on strong AI demand
• Positive Sentiment: Broad analyst price‑target lifts — Dozens of firms raised price targets (clustered ~$310–$330, some higher), and several reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings after the Q1 print, giving the stock fresh upside potential. Wall Street Floods Amazon With Price Target Hikes After Q1 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: AWS partnerships and product traction — New integrations (e.g., OpenAI models into Bedrock) and large customer deals (e.g., Meta Graviton commitments) strengthen the thesis that AWS is monetizing AI demand and could sustain higher margins. Amazon’s AWS, OpenAI Partner to Integrate Frontier Models into Amazon Bedrock Ecosystem
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish derivatives and institutional flows — Unusually large call‑option volume and institutional price‑target activity signal positive positioning from traders and analysts, which can amplify upside on good headlines.
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/logistics expansion — Amazon expanded its Rent‑A‑Center partnership (1,700+ locations) to support pickups/returns, a small operational win that improves convenience without major near‑term P&L impact. Amazon Expands Rent-A-Center Partnership As Valuation Signals Upside Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Diversified investments — Reports that Amazon committed capital into advanced energy (small modular reactors / related deals) show strategic diversification; impact on near‑term earnings is limited/uncertain. NuScale Power (SMR) Stock Soars 10% as Amazon Commits $500M to Small Modular Reactors
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and guidance concerns — Some investors pared positions after management flagged very large AI/data‑center spending and provided guidance that left operating‑income near/below expectations for the coming quarter; heavy capex could compress near‑term margins. Amazon (AMZN) Stock Dips After Strong Q1 Earnings — What Spooked Investors?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — A company director sold roughly $1.0M of AMZN stock; while not large for a $2.8T market cap, insider sales can add short‑term unease for some investors. Insider Selling: Amazon.com NASDAQ: AMZN Director Sells $1,000,740.00 in Stock

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 3,849 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 78,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,450,040. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 17,751 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.22, for a total transaction of $3,642,860.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,094.10. This represents a 65.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 128,035 shares of company stock valued at $28,827,479 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon's online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.

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